Which Idea...Which One...

1. This follows a half-angel\half-demon teenager who is vied for by several powers as he fights the demons and angels within himself. This world is kinda post-apocalyptic, with a modern day version of technology. People live in cities led usually by demon hunting orders. He stays in an Exorcist Academy so that he can be well protected.
the pros: It's a pretty cool idea to me. I like the idea of the post-apocalyptic world, and the first 12,000 words are done.
the cons: I feel like i'm writing something for Harry Potter. He goes to an Exorcist Academy (supposed to be modeled after a military academy)
But it feels like it's Harry potter. Demon defense call (dark arts defense), incantations (spells) and etc.

2. This follows a guy who has lost his memory. He must regain his memory and realize what supernatural being that he is (i'm debating half-angel/half-demon or just an angel for this one). This world has a bigger variety of mythical creatures, rather beings that are very similiar to them, with a more modern twist. Famous angels, creatures and demons have altered names different personalities-- but will not be presented as their real world form. (an example-- Raphael becomes an arrogant angel named Raffaele [italian]) Gods of most religions don't exist since it really becomes an issue (a few exceptions lye in Norse myth since some are pretty cool). It is in the modern world. It will take part in many books, mostly to discover and see through many cultures. These creatures appeared during the Renaissance and a major mystery through the entire story is to see the origin of this all and where the main characters fit in this mess.
the pros: This seems fresh. It has alot of room for creativity within the world itself.
the cons: Amnesiac stories can be tricky, as well as making all the mythical creatures and beings not sound stupid.

An idea for the first idea to make it less harry potter would be to emphasize the military academy aspect of it. More of the discipline less of the social running around causing trouble. Have the fun scenes where the older students torment the younger ones. Have them trying to get there racks in order in 30 seconds and failing again and again. Morning drill, field exercises, pt, getting yelled at, odd names for the first years, ceremonies, and the great life of military academies in generally.

Can't you write both, it sounds like you already have a fair amount of characters and such to do that? I like the wider mythology of the second story but like the post apocalyptic setting and the military academy of the first. Or why not merge the two plots together? That could certainly work.

It takes place in a world like ours, but there have been supernatural beings that have basically infested the place. They arrived in the 1600s, only around Mesopotamia and Europe (it'll be explained why later). They were called angels for their great powers and grace-- they said they came from paradise, but had to escape when a terror came upon them. But what followed them was pretty gruesome, that terror was the demons. They were parasitic beings (which they thought was possession) and so they were called demons. Even the angels had very human-like figures and did a little work to make themselves look completely like humans-- many of them took quite a liking to looking like the perfect renaissance statues. The demons were shapeshifters basically. The main character is the child of a demon and an angel. The demons had managed to drive man out of most the world, and killed most of the humans. But they were still strong in many cities that they had managed to defend. There were several orders and demon hunting groups that developed, the most prominent of which was the original of them all-- the Exorcist Guild. They held Jerusalem, Istanbul, and Paris (and a bunch of cities to link 'em together). The main character is the product of a demon and an angel. There had been half-demon/half-humans before since the demons were more parasitic in nature. But an angel being in the mix was unheard of. He was born in Jerusalem under the exorcist Guild and both his parents were part of the leadership of the guild. But when they had died (under mysterious circumstances), he was imprisoned, under the pressure of the other orders who feared the havoc the boy could unleash. When he grows up, the new Guild Leader, who has a heart for the kid, puts him secretly into the exorcist Academy in an attempt to have him learn to control the conflict within himself.
The supernatural beings here act a bit differently than in the other two. They mimic the cultures that they are in. Most of the demons are pretty mindless since they are just parasites. But, there the smaller minority that are true demons that actually have an intelligence and that were the original ones that came in the 1600s.

The third idea seems best and most developed, I'd go with that if it were me. I tend to like a wide variety of mythological creatures in my stories and I like the idea of different factions vying for the control of the main character.

My opinion is if you want to get away from the Harry Potter-ness of it then deal with the ending. What was Harry striving for throughout the series, to defeat Voldemort. He did so by becoming stronger and learning about how the past led up to the current day.

In your novel come up with an idea of where you want your story as a whole to go. If it is similar to Harry Potter then you may need to make some changes. However, if you are looking more-so to end with a grown main character who has a major self realization then that is far enough from Harry Potter to be safe in my opinion.

I say the first idea, although angels/demons have been done, what hasn't you know? everything can be original. there needs to be a good angel/demon story, because the last one was Little Nicky, and I'm ready for something scary! lol

To make it less Potter-y I would say just defeat the whole incantations thing and do no spells.

I like the thought of walking through a deconstructed world with an iPod in your hands and the smell of sulfur in the air.

I personally like the second idea best, Alighieric, and I think you could really muck around with the amnesia idea - you know, have the chapters in random order, as if fragments of his memory are visiting him at different times.